Kanara,region along the Malabar Coast of the Arabian Sea, western Karnātaka (formerly Mysore) Karnataka state, India. It is bounded on the east by the Western GhātsGhats. Formerly divided between Mumbai (Bombay) to the north and Chennai (Madras(now Tamil Nādu) to the southeast, the region became part of Mysore state in the linguistic reorganization of India in 1956. Kanara produces rice (the main food crop) and sugarcane (the main cash crop), as well as pepper, betel nuts, and coconuts. Teak and blackwood are obtained from local forests. The people of Kanara, called Kanarese, speak Kannada. The main population centre is Mangalore (Mangaluru).